Don't We Deserve Happiness
by Naksa
Summary: When a tragic event befalls one of the group, foul play is believed to be the cause. But as the pieces start to reveal themselves and signs point towards Jade West, it's clear as day. Ask anyone at Hollywood Arts and they'll say she's guilty. But then why does Tori Vega think otherwise? And does she know just how this difference of opinion will change things for the both of them?
1. The Calm

**Chapter 1: The Calm**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious.**

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 **...**

 **Physical Education, Hollywood Arts**

 **...**

"Feeling a little bit tired, are ya Vega?"

The sarcastic overtone, the almost condescending nature of it; Tori couldn't help but like she didn't even need to turn to see who it was, yet she did regardless. And as such suspected, there sat Jade, sitting leisurely on the gym bleachers. Her lips twirled to form a wicked smile, one that as much reflected Jade's glee about not participating in P.E. as it did watching Tori tire herself out.

"Why aren't you running too?" Tori called out, trying to take in as much as possible between breaths.

"I don't," Jade casually remarked, like it wasn't a bit deal.

Tori just looked at the Goth with confusion. Was she implying that she was somehow exempt from work? Was it that she just chose not to participate? And should that have been the case, how was she hoping to graduate without passing P.E.? "I don't," Tori repeated, her words callous. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly as it sounds," Jade continued on, the tone of her voice indicating slight irritation to Tori's prodding. _What exactly is so tough for her to get about it? I mean, damn, sometimes I can't but think she's as clueless as Cat is…_ Dismissing Tori with her previous remark, Jade resumed watching as the students began to pitifully cross the imaginary finish line dictated by where their gym teacher stood.

One by one, they crossed the line with the consistency of a conveyor belt. To some degree, it was a rather boring display; the real entertainment came as each one finished. A student falling to the ground as they imitate having a heart attack, perhaps a student collapsing outright, though Jade took a particular fancy towards the students that desperately scavenged around for some source of water. She wished that Tori would have been in one of those camps, but to her surprise, Tori seemed to be more athletically fit than not just what Jade predicted, but also than the greater extent of the class.

Including either Andre or Beck.

"Come on Harris! Oliver, I know you can do better than that!" The gym teacher bellowed out as the two guys practically ran foot for foot, side by side, their faces looking like they were ready to fall over in exhaustion. "Come on! Only another 50 meters to go!"

Tori and Jade both found themselves pretty much the only two who were actually watching the boys complete their mile. The few who weren't exhausted like Tori were otherwise preoccupied and the remainder of the class were further divided into two camps; Those who had finished and were overcoming their suffering and those who were still suffering as they ran. "Looks like you're not as pathetic as one might first assume," Jade coldly remarked as Andre and Beck both passed the finish line in an overly dramatic fashion.

Mustering what strength they had left, it was perhaps a slight miracle that neither of them had collapsed on their way towards Tori and Jade. Rushing towards the bleachers were Jade sat, Andre took several large deep breaths, to much an extent mirroring how Tori behaved once she finished running. Unlike then, Andre hardly seemed in a position to speak, "Need…. Need… Water…"

"You wouldn't happen to have any, would you Tori?" Beck asked with as sincere a tone as he could, though secretly not for Andre's sake, but rather that he would stop his desperate pleading.

Tori rose an eyebrow, not bothering to speak but instead allowing Beck a moment to realize just what it was he was asking.

It took a moment, but it did appear that he finally got the hint, nodding with defeat. "Nevermind."

"Ugh… Need… Need… Food…." Andre moaned, somehow or another managing to actually fall off the bleachers, or more appropriately, roll off the bleachers. Even upon landing on the hardwood floor, he didn't seem to register any sort of pain. If anything, he seemed to be more enjoying the change, or at least him no longer moaning seemed to indicate.

"Harris!" The gym teacher called out, proceeding towards the group, "What're you doing lying down? That's hardly a way to recover after a run!" Andre mumbled something or another, though it sounded foreign to all in the area. The instructor simply looked at him for a moment before dismissing him, "Anyways. Vega!"

Tori gulped, worried that she had somehow or another done something wrong. "Yes?" She asked, almost trembling.

"7 minutes, 38 seconds. Not bad. Not bad at all. Oliver, Harris, I wish I could say the same for you two. Just under 10. 9 minutes, 43 seconds."

"Is that well enough for us to pass?" Beck asked, not sounding all too concerned, but knowing that a faster time would be a tough thing to achieve. Especially if this was any indication.

The teacher nodded, to which Beck let out a sigh of relief. "The required time to beat is 12 minutes. So yes, it's good enough to pass. But not exactly a very impressive time." After a second or two of standing around there, he returned back to the transparent finish line, calling over several students' names in the process.

Throughout the entire encounter, Tori couldn't help find something odd about the whole thing. Switching her focus several times between the teacher and Jade, Tori finally said aloud, "So, did anyone notice that he didn't say anything as far as Jade not running was concerned?"

"Jade doesn't run," Beck said matter-of-factly.

The way he spoke, Beck made it sound like it was common knowledge. How was it then that Tori had no idea herself about this, or more importantly, how Jade had managed something like that in the first place. She turned towards Jade, noticing a smug grin on the Goth's face.

"Told ya so," Jade remarked, arrogance radiating off her words.

"Let's go Shapiro!" The group could hear the teacher call out, though unlike earlier where few people bothered to turn to watch Beck or Oliver, this time it seemed like a great majority of the class was watching.

And unlike with the other two, watching Robbie was actually enjoyable.

Enjoyable in a more pitiful sense. While many of the students had – shockingly – struggled to complete the mile, Robbie looked as though he wasn't going to be able to complete it at all. His pace amounted to little more than of a student's normal walk. And even at such a slow rate, the look on his face was one of death, one that echoed the apparent pain that came with each pathetic step taken.

Watching it play out, Tori couldn't help but feel sorry for Robbie. Beyond just the fact he was quite clearly moving slower than anyone else in the class, it seemed to amount to torture how he was physically reacting to it. But perhaps the nail in the coffin for her was the fact that many of their classmates had taken it upon themselves to begin a "Robbie" chant, which while appearing to be encouraging, Tori could almost immediately pick up on the sarcasm and mockery in their voices.

"Come on Robbie!"

"Let's go! Rex is waiting!"

The variety of remarks thrown about, whether they were loud enough for Robbie to have heard them or not, there was no doubt that they were taking their toll. Not just on Robbie, but now also on Tori. As disgusted as she was by how rude everyone was showing themselves to be, the fact was she was as much associated with Robbie as were Andre, Beck, or even Jade was. How it was that they didn't seem to be as conflicted as she was right now, that was something that Tori just could not understand.

But the worst thing of it all was the fact that for as much as she might have wanted to protest, she knew that it wouldn't achieve anything. This would go on for as long as Robbie slowly carried himself through the remainder of the track, that being just the distance that Andre and Beck when they were called out earlier. Yet, the fact that he seemed to have been moving even slower than before, it would seem to require a miracle for him to actually finish it.

 _Come on Robbie…_

Time continued to dwindle down until the moment finally arrived. The moment when finally, in spite of moving at a snail's pace, Robbie Shapiro managed to cross the finish line that marked him running a complete mile. After only about 15 minutes or so, twice the time that Tori needed to finish, and 1 and a half times the amount of time that Andre and Beck needed, he finally finished.

And no more than three steps later did he collapse onto the hard ground.

"Robbie, are you alright," Tori asked as she found herself rushing towards him, wasting no time in trying to help him up to his feet. Utterly fixated on making sure that he was alright, Tori didn't seem to notice either the mob now hurling insults at her or the fact that someone else was actually making an effort to help her as well.

"Ignore them," Beck said, causing Tori's eyes to slightly widen with surprise. Given how the other students so aggressively threw out mocking insult upon insult, for some reason she couldn't help but think that Beck might have stayed away from involving himself at all. But here he was, forgoing any hit his reputation at school might take to ensure that his friend was alright.

Though she expected a friendly gesture like that from Andre, Tori felt a bit obligated to forgive Andre in this case. From what she could tell, he hadn't moved much from the spot that he had originally lay on the ground beside the bleachers. "Thanks Beck, really."

"Of course," Beck smiled, adjusting his positioning and grip on Robbie, leveraging more of the weight onto him to alleviate Tori. "Come on Robbie, let's take a seat. Shall we?"

"…. Coo'..." Robbie said in what almost seemed like a semi-conscious state. Tori immediately shot a glance from him towards Beck, as a sense of urgency suddenly seemed to present it. Although she wasn't sure herself, Tori couldn't help but imagine that Beck was feeling the same. Within a short matter of time, they had Robbie resting on the bleachers in a manner similar to how Andre had been. But unlike Andre, the last thing they wanted was Robbie possibly rolling onto the ground himself.

"That's pretty impressive Robbie," Tori perked her head up as she heard Jade's voice for what seemed like the first time in a while. Turning around, she couldn't help but begin to get upset at seeing Jade crowded among some of the more vocal – and rude – people in their class. "Maybe you should have let Rex run in your place. _He'd_ probably have run faster than that. But then again, even if he could run, I doubt that could be even close to as enjoyable as that excuse for running you did was."

Tori's blood began to boil as she listened to Jade only further add insult to injury. And to make matters worse, it seemed that with every remark she made, no matter how insulting or not it was, it managed to utterly rile up the other students. _What the hell Jade?_ A part of her wanted to get up and do something. Throw a punch at Jade? That'd do nothing but make Tori's life a complete and utter hell. Yell at her? That'd achieve about as little as a punch would.

All of a sudden, she realized that even in spite of weighing the consequences of confronting Jade, she had basically done exactly that. Here she stood, only a couple of feet before Jade.

"What can I do for you, Vega?" Jade asked, the dozen or so students who stood behind her no doubt empowering her to some degree.

Fortunately for Tori, the sound of the bells echoing through the gymnasium spared her for having to come up with some sort of excuse to getting in Jade's face. Stepping away, it dawned on her that even a simple lie – in that situation – may have had as much of an impact as insulting or striking her.

Taking a deep breath, Tori wasted no time in getting out of the gym as quickly as possible. It wasn't the fact that it was Jade herself, but rather that it was Jade in addition to well over a dozen or so students who were all encouraging her and no doubt would side with her if it came to a choice between them. Add in the fact that people were undoubtedly linking her to Robbie, that was nothing more than a recipe for disaster.

 **...**

 **The Asphalt Café, Hollywood Arts**

 **...**

Whomever designed the schedules for students had a very sick sense of humor. While they had been kind enough to have put the entire gang in the same lunch period again, they had decided to put the majority of them in P.E. right before. Often enough it wasn't something that they thought much of, but on a day like today, they found themselves envious of Cat.

She didn't have to go through the painful ordeal that they did which was the indoor mile.

But she also hadn't seen the sequence of events that transpired there either. If she had, then perhaps she would understand why nobody was all that talkative. That was fine enough for Cat; it meant that she had more time to talk.

"So Tori, you remember that time that you came over to my house and you lost your shoe?"

Tori chuckled at Cat's question, "Which time? The one from last year after the basketball game? Or last summer when we went to the beach and you walked over a jellyfish and was convinced that it was a monster trying to burrow inside your body? Or the - "

"I'm sorry, but how do you lose so many pairs of shoes?" Jade interrupted. While she wouldn't say so, she was also quite curious as to how that conversation went regarding Cat and her encounter with the jellyfish. Just by Tori's description, it sounded like quite the tale.

"Pairs of shoes? No. Individual shoes," Tori corrected, holding up a lone finger for further emphasis. As she examined Jade's face for a response, she realized that either way, if it had been a single shoe or a pair, Jade was probably going to think that Tori was clumsy and forgetful. Hoping to save face, Tori quickly sought to put the conversation to rest, "I'll come by later and grab it, alright Cat?"

Cat looked at Tori for a moment, nodding emotionlessly, as if she were a robot. It wasn't until Tori rose her eyebrows several times that it seemed to dawn on Cat what Tori was implying. "Oh, I get it. Sure, that's fine Tori!"

There was a very brief moment of silence as Cat scanned what was going on with the others at the table. Outside of her, Tori, and Jade's occasional remark, the rest of the gang had been pretty much silent. Beck seemed pretty fixated on his slice of pizza, slowly taking bites of it, though with each one it seemed like he was fighting himself in order to continue. Andre – for as much as he had begged and pleaded for food earlier – hadn't so much as touched the sushi that he had purchased for himself. It was quickly getting to the point that Tori was about to take it for herself, especially if Andre wasn't going to eat it.

And then there was Robbie. In spite of Beck and Tori both suggesting to Robbie that he go to the nurse's office and lie down for a bit, he insisted on joining them for lunch. Judging by how he looked now, that was a gross mistake. His face was completely devoid of color, his hair looked drenched still of sweat much like the clothes he was wearing. It had taken him several minutes to get from the gym to the Asphalt Café and the salad that Tori had bought for him remained completely untouched.

"Why are you guys all really quiet?" Cat asked, a little concerned by how they were acting. By the time she looked at Robbie, she appeared visibly concerned. The slightly-odd yet entertaining and joyful Robbie that she considered one of her closest friends wasn't there today. Today she was looking at what was nothing more than a husk. A shell of Robbie.

"Gym," Jade casually remarked, being far more interested in stabbing her salad than Cat's apparent concern for the others.

Cat turned towards Jade, confused by what she meant. "Gym? Why, what happened?"

Recognizing Jade's indifference, Tori chimed in, "That temporary gym teacher guy had us run the mile today inside. A couple of people had a harder time than others." Trying to be as discreet as possible, her eyes darted around the table a few times, hoping that it was subtle enough not to draw the others' attention but at the same time be clear enough for her to get the point.

Even without the hint, Cat knew enough of what Tori was talking about. Even though she appreciated the fact that Tori was trying to be all secret agent-like, all one had to do was look at Andre or Robbie to tell that they were physically drained. Beck looked a bit more like his usual self, but it was apparent too that he was similarly drained. "Man, I hate that all of you guys got the same gym class and I'm the only one who's not in it!"

"Trust me Cat, you're not missing much." Beck said in what seemed like a rare moment. Without saying anything more, Tori nodded in agreement.

 _Believe Beck. The last place you would have wanted to be today was gym. If you don't trust Beck's word, trust mine._

In another rare moment, Robbie seemed to stand up and start to walk away from the table, causing everyone to look at him, the collection of faces expressing emotions of concern and intrigue. "Robbie!" Tori called out, hopeful that he'd stop to at least give them some indication that he wasn't going to pass out or something. "Where are… Don't you think you should relax a bit?"

"I need something to eat. Something with meat," he said weakly. Ironically enough, it was a comforting thing to hear, him being able to speak rather than spew out words in a fatigued state. That however, did not diminish concerns shared by Tori and others.

Beck got up from his seat himself and gently put a hand on Robbie's shoulder, "I'll go grab you one. Take a seat bro," he insisted.

"Don't baby him. If Robbie wants his meat, let me get it," Jade scolded, grabbing hold of Beck's arm and pulling him back towards the table. Tori simply looked on shaking her head at Jade, how it seemed like she wanted him to hurt himself or something.

As Beck reluctantly took his seat, he subtly tightened his grip on Robbie's shoulder as well, hoping to reel him back towards his own seat. Robbie wasn't having it. "I'll be fine," he muttered with slight irritation as he walked towards the food truck.

Tori happened to catch a quick glance at Robbie as he walked away. Although she wasn't completely sure, she couldn't help but think she was seeing him limp, or at the very least have a little issue as far as his balance was concerned. Once he was out of earshot she spoke, "I really don't think he's alright."

"It's probably just fatigue. I mean, look at Andre," Jade said, pointing to the man who still had not touched his sushi. Even she couldn't help but flash a small smile at the sight of Tori grabbing the sushi and beginning to eat it.

"Maybe you should see the nurse, don't ya think?" Tori suggested as she took a closer look at Andre's face, coming within inches as she carefully examined seemingly every part of it.

Turning his head just very slightly in Tori's general direction, Andre simply looked at her or a few moments, saying not a word until she backed up, which she did upon eventually making eye contact with him. "I appreciate the concern, but I'm fine. I'm just… not hungry is all." He seemed to choke on the last sentence, having a hard time himself believing what he just said. "Did I really just say that? I should go to the nurse…"

Tori and Cat broke out into laughter at Andre's mini-panic attack. Even now, Tori was imagining how things were going to play out once they were out of school. Andre would probably ask Tori for a ride and then somewhere along the way he'd throw out the suggestion for food. Then probably he'd make a large order which would exceed the actual amount of money he had on him, which Tori would have to cover. _Wow, it's frightening how likely that might happen actually._ Now with reluctance, Tori continued to eat away at Andre's food, hoping with each bite that his appetite wouldn't return until after they were both home.

"So, what're you guys doing later?" Tori asked to those at the table.

"Thinking about going to see the new Kenan Thompson movie, Orange Soda II." Beck responded. The look on Jade's face seemed to mirror a feeling of ' _did you really have to tell them that?'_

"Oh, I love Orange Soda!" Cat exclaimed.

"Who doesn't," Andre chimed in as well.

Beck looked down onto his place, disappointment actually setting in at the realization that he had no more pizza. _Shit. Probably shouldn't, but I could really go for another slice…_ Finally opting against getting another slice, he lifted his head, "You guys can come with us if you'd like."

"Yay!" Cat cheered.

Tori didn't make an initial remark, much in part due to the sushi she had hastily stuffed into her mouth. Once she swallowed, she reacted in a manner similar to Cat, "Awesome! What time is the showing?"

Jade leaned her head to the side and frowned, "Oh I'm sorry. That was only to Cat and Andre. Not you."

Tori stared right at Jade, doing her best to make herself look as intimidating as possible, though it didn't seem to faze Jade.

Beck turned his head towards his girlfriend, disapprovingly shaking his head. "Jade…"

"Ugh…" Jade groaned. "Fine, you can come along, I guess."

"I feel so wanted," Tori sarcastically said, rolling her eyes. _Maybe it's not just Robbie. Maybe it's just National Jade's a Bitch Day…_

"But to answer your question though Tor, it's a later showing. Around 8."

"Nice," Cat coolly said. "We meeting there then or we going-"

Cat's words were cut off as a loud thud was heard, followed immediately by the medley of comments made by everyone around them, all speaking at once. Even the redhead found herself covering her mouth as she saw the event take place before her. Tori was a bit slower to realize what was going on, initially having her attention drawn towards everyone else, everyone who seemed to have been looking right at their table. Turning her head, she realized just what it was that had everyone shocked.

In Jade's lap there appeared to have been what looked like a burrito of some kind, practically torn apart as meat and sauce seemed to utterly coat Jade's clothing.

A terrified feeling went through Tori's head as she quickly came to suspect who and what might have happened. And as she looked away from Jade – but not before seeing the shocked expression on Jade's face – she saw what looked like Robbie, laying on the ground just a few steps away. _Oh God, is he alright!?_

Her fears were quickly put to rest as the boy began to get up, though a little slower than she might have suspected him to be able to. Perhaps he realized what he did, or at least suspected he did something. Either way, as he did fully get up and noticed just who it was that his food had spilt on, his face went completely white as if he had seen a ghost. Quietly, he began to step back, hoping that Jade wouldn't know it was him or notice him leave.

He managed to make it no more than a few steps before Jade's voice resonated through the entirety of The Asphalt Café, effectively paralyzing everyone in place.

"Robbie! I'm going to kill you!"

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 **A/N: And there in starts the first chapter!** **Reviews are appreciated.** **Hope you guys enjoy!**


	2. The Storm

**Chapter 2. The Storm**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious.**

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 **...**

 **Main Hallway, Hollywood Arts**

 **...**

In the immediate aftermath, the scene was hard to describe, but stunned might have summed it up quite nicely. Jade's reaction, as visceral and angry as it was, had everyone either terrified or otherwise fixated, excited for what might happen next. And it was perhaps by some miracle that the combined efforts of Tori, Beck, Cat, and Andre were able to stop the inevitable bloodshed; Beck and Cat doing whatever possible to try to calm Jade whilst Tori and Andre did what they could to not only help Robbie to his feet but also see to it that he was out of Jade's grasp and outside the range at which she could have thrown something at him – which given where they were and Jade's temperament was certainly a possibility.

"You alright Robbie?" Tori asked as she, Andre, and Robbie somehow managed to get all the way from the Asphalt Café to the hallway, the emptiness of it having both an eerie and comforting feeling to it. Just by looking at him, it didn't seem that Robbie had really hurt himself. Possibly a small scratch or two, but otherwise, Tori couldn't see anything wrong physically with him. Emotionally though, she had to imagine that he was terrified, but understandably so.

"Thinking that I should just head home, maybe hide there for a little bit…" Robbie spoke, his words sounding empty, as though he had already given up. "…Or maybe forever…" While it looked like he could stand without Tori or Andre's assistance, he almost immediately leaned back against the lockers once he made any slight distance between him and the two.

"You want us to take you to the nurse man? You don't look all that great." Even before asking, Andre already knew the answer that he was going to get.

"No!" Robbie barked out, his reaction taking Tori slightly by surprise but not Andre. "Sorry… I'm fine. Really, I just need a second or two, that's it." Of course Robbie would be against the idea of it, to admit that there was anything wrong seemed to go against Robbie's whole frame of mind. Andre couldn't understand what it was that Robbie insisted on being so difficult about it. Did he think that they'd think less of him? Maybe Jade would, but she already thought pretty little of him as it was.

Tori looked at Andre, hoping that he'd say something to change Robbie's mind. _There's nothing you need to prove Robbie. You can be honest with us; you know that right?_ She sighed with disappointment, wishing that Cat was here right now. She'd certainly be able to get Robbie to go to the nurse. "You know, it'd be a great way to hide if you're wanting to avoid Jade. If you went to the nurse's that is."

"I said I'm fine Tori. You're not my mother, you don't need to baby me!"

Tori was genuinely hurt by Robbie's remark. She wasn't trying to baby him, she wasn't trying to demean him or anything like that. She was just trying to look out for him, like a friend. "I'm, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply –"

Robbie threw up his hand, hoping that that would be clear enough of a message for Tori to stop talking, "It's fine, it's alright." It wasn't until that point that he realized that his words had taken an effect on Tori, and very quickly guilt started to overtake him. "Tori… I'm so, so sorry… I'm just…" If there were ever a time that he wished he could either find the right words or take them back what he had just said, it was now.

The flashing of a weak smile on Tori's face seemed to have an unbelievable effect on Robbie. With a single small gesture she had managed to revitalize Robbie's spirits, not to a complete degree, but at least far better than the slump he had just put himself in seconds earlier. "It's OK Robbie, I understand." Her words were sweet, kinder than perhaps others might have thought were deserved. But Tori wasn't one to hold spite for something like that, certainly not after the abuse she had seen him endure during gym class. Compared to that, his offhand remark was nothing.

Andre hung a bit back, similarly surprised by Robbie's earlier outburst, but also a little bit surprised by how forgiving Tori was. It was an admirable trait, no doubt, but Andre couldn't help but wish that Tori would be more assertive at times. Needless to say, this was not such a time and he was glad that she didn't, but he wished that in the future she'd show it.

"Look," Robbie began, his tone perhaps seeming a little bit defeated, though upon really listening, it sounded like he was more empowered, more emboldened than he had been up to the point, "I really appreciate you guys helping me out of there. I don't know what Jade might have done if she did have free reign at me, but I think I should be good now."

Tori rose an eyebrow, a little bit concerned at how quickly it seemed that Robbie was dismissing Jade. It looked to her like he was jumping to conclusions, and doing so with unfavorable odds. "Are you sure? I mean, you heard Jade just like the rest of us. She was pretty pissed."

"Yeah, but I mean, how many times has she sworn that she was going to kill you? And nothing ever happened to you," Robbie countered. And while she didn't want to concede that fact, Tori couldn't help but admit that he was right. Among the group, Tori and Robbie were top among Jade's insult list and she could distinctly remember the few times where Jade had explicitly threatened her too.

Finally, Andre stepped forward, having listened to both sides but feeling the need to play the middleman, "True. But even still, I don't know if dismissing her is the right approach either. Let's face it, she was _pissed!_ And if we were in private, it might not be so bad. But a lot of people saw it Rob; you can't forget that!"

"Believe me, I haven't." He paused for a moment, noting the looks of concern on both Tori's and Andre's faces, "All I'm gonna do is take a little walk, get some air or something. More, just give Jade a chance to cool off. Heck, once Sikowitz's class ends, things'll probably all blow over and it'll be back to normal."

He started to walk down the hallway, only taking a couple of steps before Tori gently grabbed his arm, "You want any company? You know, just to talk to?"

Robbie smiled and shook his head, "Thanks, but I don't imagine I'd be much company." Gingerly pulling his arm from Tori's grip, he continued on his way.

"I can get Cat if you'd prefer," Tori quickly proposed, hoping that it'd stop Robbie, if even for just a moment. In actuality, she didn't know how that would work entirely. Cat was probably somewhere with Beck and Jade, so to pull her away, the implications that it might have had, along with the probability of garnering Jade's attention, Tori wasn't exactly sure how well it would play out.

"Really Tori, I appreciate the concern, but it's really not necessary. I'll see you in class, alright?" Robbie looked at Tori, waiting for some sort of acknowledgement. Last thing he wanted was Tori stressing about him.

To her chagrin, Tori smiled and nodded, "Alright. Enjoy your walk, then." He responded with no words himself, but rather with a smile as he walked further down the hall until he disappeared as he turned the corner down another hallway. She flashed a weak smile to Andre as she walked back towards him, to which he responded with a reassuring – yet demeaning – pat of the head. "So, on a scale of 1 to 10, how do you think Jade'll be?" Tori asked, wasting little time in taking out her phone, using it as a type of mirror to ensure Andre hadn't ruined her hair any more than running had already done.

"Assuming Beck and Cat managed to pull off some sort of miracle? I'd give it a 5 or 6, possibly a 7 in a worst case scenario," Andre reasoned. The truth was it was a bit tough to say just how upset Jade would be. In thinking, he reasoned that it'd probably make more sense to give Tori two different values; how upset she was at Robbie, and how upset she'd be in general.

 _Maybe the only thing I envy about Jade; the fact that she doesn't have to participate in gym and have to ruin an otherwise great hair day…_ Satisfied – or as close as she could be – with how her hair looked, she shoved her phone back into her pocket. But contrary to perhaps what Andre might have thought about her, she was paying attention to what he said, "And if Beck and Cat couldn't pull it off?"

Andre shrugged his shoulders, preferring not to actually think about that, "An 8 or a 9, maybe."

Tori couldn't think of just what to say to respond to that. She had confidence in the two of them with regards to calming Jade down, but nevertheless the concern remained in the back of her mind that they wouldn't be able to achieve it.

"Oh, this is going to be good," Andre offhandedly remarked with a wicked smirk as he peered down the hall. Tori, intrigued by what Andre meant, joined him in looking as well, noticing a rather shocking sight; Jade stomping down the hall, the black leggings she often wore instead being replaced by a bright pink skirt. Seeing this, Tori found herself struggling – even with a hand covering her mouth – to not laugh at the sight. That and how irritated Jade seemed to have been wearing the skirt. "Looking good Jade," Andre called out as Jade and Beck came within distance, Cat followed shortly behind.

"Zip it, Harris." Jade barked out, the ferocity in her voice seeming as apparent and aggressive as it did earlier at lunch. Instinctively, Tori found herself taking a step back herself.

"You don't have to be so upset. I happen to think it doesn't look all that bad on you," Tori commented. Of course, there was no reason to believe that Jade would think the same, but maybe if she knew that others weren't opposed to it that it might calm her down a bit.

Jade didn't seem at all phased by Tori's approval. Rather she just glared right at the Latina, causing Tori to take another step back. "Thank you for the feedback. The next time I need some useless opinion, I'll be sure to look you up, Vega…" She spoke with toxicity, her words eating away at what little patience Tori had for Jade up to this point.

Beck also did not seem thrilled by Jade's cruel remark. Putting his hand on her shoulder as he gently turned her in his direction, he spoke sternly, "Hey, you need to relax. She didn't do anything-"

To not only Beck's surprise but also to the rest of the group, Jade swatted his hand away, giving him a look of death as well, "Don't fucking tell me what to do!" She lashed out, pointing her finger right in his face.

While others might have been inclined to lash out against her, Beck did not. He simply stood there with a disappointed look on his face.

"Beck's right! You need to –" Tori began, looking to stick up for her friend. It was one thing for her to be a bitch to Tori; she was used to that. But the fact was today she was something else entirely, seemingly lashing out at anyone and everyone.

If it looked like Jade might have come close to striking at Beck, then she was a hair's breadth of striking Tori, swinging her body with great momentum as her fist materialized less than an inch from the base of Tori's chin. "You need to mind your own fucking business!"

Tori marveled at how she didn't fall back at either of Jade's acts of intimidation. She was certainly panicked, but somehow or another she still found herself standing upright. Her legs felt like they were made of Jell-O.

Beyond Tori, everyone went silent, unable to say anything, unable to do anything than just stand there. Between Tori and Beck, Jade had shown that nobody was off-limits why she was on this kind of tirade. Much like Tori, Cat seemed petrified at what she was seeing of Jade, her wide eyes showing complete disbelief at what was transpiring before them.

"What's going on here?" A random voice had the group turning their head as a teacher peaked his head out of one of the nearby classrooms and proceeded towards the group. "Is everything OK?"

"Just grabbing a couple of books before class," Andre said, trying to sound as casual as possible, hoping that that would divert the teacher's attention away from them. Dealing with Jade was one thing, but there would be nothing to gain and only more to lose if teachers got involved.

The teacher took a minute and glanced at each of them, with the group either looking back at him, the only one of them giving a particularly defiant look being Jade. Eventually, the professor made a gesture that might have looked like a nod, or maybe just a tilt of the head. "I'd suggest that you all head to wherever your next class is. If I have to come out here again before the bell rings, I'm writing you all up. Understand me?"

The group gave their acknowledgement in the form of shrugs, nods, and a few mumbled yes's which were satisfactory enough for the teacher as he returned back to the room from which he had emerged from. Once his door closed, Jade simply shook her head as her gaze remained fixated on his door. "I don't need this…" she muttered aloud as she began towards the main doors which separated Hollywood Arts and the rest of the world.

Tori almost wanted to call out to her, to try to stop Jade from leaving, but something about it had her split. What exactly would be gained by bringing back Jade anyways? Perhaps once she had a smoke she might be just a little bit more cordial. Granted, it was a long shot, but a possibility nonetheless. She turned towards Beck, hoping that he could give some sense of what to do.

"Look, at this point I probably say her leaving's the best choice," Beck lamented, not even bothering to spend much more time on the matter but instead turning his attention to his locker.

The sound of the bell came only moments later, immediately followed by the thunderous migration of the Hollywood Arts students from out of the various classrooms into the halls. If it weren't for the fact that they weren't already there, who was to say how long it'd take to actually get from the Asphalt Café to their lockers and then to Sikowitz's class. It wasn't hard to imagine that they might have been late, given how clustered and how much heavier in traffic the hallways seemed to have been today.

"Come on. Might as well get to Sikowitz's now before the herds make that impossible too," Andre remarked as he slung one of his backpack straps over his shoulder, the few steps he took hopefully being enough to get Tori to follow, rather than standing in place as she was. "Tori, you coming?"

Tori sighed and followed Andre. If there were any concerns that she might have had up to that point, she was confident that they'd remedy themselves.

 **...**

 **Sikowitz's Classroom, Hollywood Arts**

 **...**

By the time the bell rang to indicate the final period of the day, everyone was in their seat, waiting for Sikowitz to grace them with his presence and whatever topic he might have had for them today.

Everyone, save for the two people who were absent from the class.

Looking around at who was all there, it quickly dawned on Tori just who it was that seemed to have been missing. Jade West and Robbie Shapiro. She leaned towards Cat – who had been the last of the group to show up to the classroom – hoping that she might have known where they both were. "Cat," she whispered, not wanting to draw the attention of the rest of the class, "Where's Robbie and Jade?"

"I don't know where Robbie is," Cat whispered back in a rather loud tone, one that seemed to disappoint Tori slightly. What was the point now of trying to be discreet?

"And Jade," she asked, not sure if Cat didn't hear her or otherwise just didn't know. Though she didn't say it or hope to indicate anything, she hoped for the former than that of the latter.

"What about Jade?" Cat asked, appearing to act as if the last couple of seconds hadn't even happened, or at least so it seemed.

Tori took a deep breath, not wanting to lash out at Cat, certainly not raise her voice towards her. Not only would it pretty much guarantee that everyone eavesdrops and wonder what they were talking about, but it might have also caused Cat to shut down completely. "Where is she?"

"I don't know…" Cat spoke quickly as the sound of the door opening seemed to have an almost silencing effect to the students. Once it was fully open and Sikowitz appeared, the room was entirely silent, save for the teacher's heavy footsteps.

"Good morning class!" Sikowitz called out as he tossed his satchel against the back wall of the room. Then spinning around, he proceeded to point towards several of the students, indicating something was to happen. "Drive-by exercise! If you were born between July 1st and December 31st then you have just been killed in a freak disaster and if you were born between January 1st and June 30th, then you are their loved one in mourning! Go!"

Even though drive-by exercises were nothing new, certainly not for Sikowitz's class, the fact that he was giving different assignments based on their date of birth proved to stump a few of the students. Being a bit quicker on the draw than others, Beck and Andre lunged themselves from their chairs and both laid on the ground, becoming motionless corpses. Cat and Tori found themselves kneeling against both of them, the sounds of fake sobs emerging coming from them as other students finally caught on themselves and mirrored their actions.

"No! No! He... He can't be... No this isn't right!" Tori cried out, quickly plotting out in her head how she was going to take the story. If there was one good thing about this, it was the fact that she pretty much had complete control of how to take it.

Cat seemed to be mirroring Tori's line of thought, though while Tori seemed to appear more devastated, Cat seemed to look in disbelief, like someone who was holding back the pain they were feeling, "Why? Oh, why did he have to pet that bunny!? He should have known better…" She spoke with remorse as her hand gently skittered against Andre's cheek.

Sikowitz watched the class, his eyes shifting from student to student, seeing if real emotion was being displayed, if the students were at all believable, and if those who were to pretend to be dead remain in character and show nothing at all.

"We... We were supposed to be married..." Tori continued to act, her hands pulling at the collar of Beck's shirt as she shook his body in disbelief, "He was going to... Going to propose..."

On the other hand, Cat had released whatever emotion that she had built up earlier, presenting it in a depressing, defeated monologue. "He always said that he loved the bunnies! I just... I just never thought that they would end him..."

The sight of what looked like a small snicker coming from Andre's lips was enough for Sikowtiz to have seen enough as he clapped his hands to grab all of the students' attention. "Alright, alright that's good. Everyone take your seats please." He waited for them to be seated before he offered a few critiques, "Cat, I like how you really made the tragedy your own. Interesting, maybe a bit strange even, but you had engaged."

"Yay!" Cat cheered from her seat, her hands and legs both flailing with joy.

"Tori, I sensed real pain there with your character. Good job." Tori smiled at the praise. "Beck, good job on doing nothing at all. Almost had me convinced you were just a prop. And Andre! Andre, what do corpses not do?"

Andre sank into his seat slightly, realizing that Sikowitz had caught his little slip-up. "Laugh?"

"Precisely!" Sikowitz exclaimed as he suddenly jumped towards the back of the small stage. "Corpses do not speak. They do not act, they do not move, show any emotion, anything! But, that aside, a good job."

Tori pat Andre on the shoulder in the hopes of rising his spirits slightly. She knew all too well how it felt when Sikowitz singled out a student. Or threw a large rubber ball at them. Neither was fun. She turned her head quickly to see if Robbie or Jade had arrived yet. Now she was beginning to worry, having seen that both seats were still empty.

"Now, we've been spending the past couple of classes on what I've taken to calling a soul searching project. I tasked you yesterday with coming with, as a performer, your Achilles' Heel. When thrown into this particular situation, be it a certain role, a scene, what have you, this is where you are least comfortable, where you are most concerned and uncertain of yourself." Sikowitz intended to continue on, but he couldn't help but notice Tori still staring at a pair of empty seats. He proceeded towards the back of the classroom and revealed the large blue rubber ball that he had so often utilized on students, Tori included.

At the very sight of it, students began to move away from Tori, as if they knew who it was that he was targeting.

"Tori!" Sikowitz called out as the Latina turned around, only to propel herself out of her chair as the ball shot out from his hand, undoubtedly hitting her in the face had she not moved. As she slowly began to get back to her seat, a look of disbelief on her, there was only a content smirk on the instructor's. "Thank you for joining us, Tori. I know, staring at chairs can be a timeless venture, but for the remaining 35 minutes of class, do you think you could perhaps pay attention?"

Tori wanted to be upset, to maybe get up and throw the ball back at him, but he was right. Even though she wished he wasn't. "Sorry..." She felt something and turned to see Andre repeating the same gesture that she had to him, giving her with a pathetic pat. While she appreciated it, she hated the smirk on his face that went along with it.

"Tis alright. Now, can you please inform the class what you found to be your Achilles' Heel?"

Tori recollected her thoughts. It wasn't a matter of her not doing the work, but rather just the incident with the blue ball had her thoughts all disarrayed. "That'd probably be a scene where I would have to be really angry at someone."

"Angry as in?"

 _Hmm, how do I really explain this?_ She thought for a moment, finally coming up with what she believed to be a good example, "Like angry enough that I'd want to hurt someone. You know, like having the urge to punch them in the face repeatedly. Over and over again."

"Sound like someone we know," Andre quietly joked, drawing a snicker out of Cat and Tori. Beck didn't look all that offended. Given everything that had happened up to this point today, it was warranted.

Whether Sikowitz heard it or not, he made no indication that he did, instead seeming completely focused on the lecture at hand. "Not surprising, as one might say that for you," He said, focused on Tori, "that that would be out of character for you." He then focused again towards the class as a whole, "Often times, we relate to the characters who most reflect us. It would be difficult for us to imagine Tori playing an outright, unredeemable character. But what we think, Hollywood does not care for that. The truth is that any of us might be expected to engage in a role that we've never thought of ourselves as doing or a role that might terrify us in way or another. It's inevitable that at least some-"

Sikowitz found himself stopping again midway through the lecture, this time not because Tori seemed to have been daydreaming, but rather because Jade had come through the door and proceeded towards one of the two empty seats, not paying any heed to the students who might have watched or even to the fact that she had just interrupted the current lecture.

"Jade, so great of you to join us today! Care to explain why you're," Sikowitz quickly turned his head as he examined the old clock which hung above the stage, "only 10 minutes late?"

Jade shrugged her shoulders, seeming to be completely unaffected by Sikowitz's words, unlike Tori or Andre who had felt guilty. "No."

Sikowitz rose an eyebrow, "No?"

Jade was not deterred, "Nope."

Tori simply exchanged looks with Andre. It was probably a long shot to assume that Jade might have relaxed at all, and though it was impossible to say entirely, it didn't seem like it was the case. But, in the back of Tori's mind, she found herself uncertain herself. Jade and Sikowitz didn't exactly have an ideal student-teacher relationship – though Tori doubted any student really did when it came to him – and a back and forth like this between the two were actually rather common.

Sikowitz sighed, conceding to the reality that Jade wasn't going to say one way or the other where she had gone to instead of class. The important thing was that she was here now, so might as well have the lesson continue on. "Well Jade, I was going to continue on with the lecture, but since you're here now, how about you tell us. What is your Achilles' Heel?"

Slumping slightly back into her seat, Jade found herself quickly engaged in a deep thought. Tori couldn't help but smile in delight at the possibility that Jade neglected to do the assignment. Once Jade spoke, that joy Tori had evaporated away, "I don't know if I have an Achilles' Heel necessarily, but I do think that parts where I have to show weakness, and not just the 'I'm the character that starts off disenfranchised but will ultimately become the hero of legend' kind of weakness, but the genuine true, 'down on my luck, nothing ever works out' kind of weakness. I think those are the scenes and parts which seem the most foreign to me, the ones that perhaps more catch me off guard than anything else."

Her answer left everyone a little bit impressed, Tori especially. She had been so certain that Jade didn't do the assignment given her reluctance and slowness to answer, the fact that Jade gave a really in-depth answer, she didn't want to admit it, but it was good. Sikowitz nodded in approval as Jade concluded, "Very good. Certainly, one of the tragic realities of Hollywood has been the oversaturation, perhaps, of these stories of empowerment. So much so that genuine weakness, despair, probably what you're referring to, is becoming more of a rarity than anything else. It's perhaps given that, and given that we – as a result – have become more and more accustomed to that change that we've made preparing for the role to be more a rarity too."

"Now, I had you all find out what it was that you found to be the worst scenario, your Achilles' Heel when it comes to your performing careers. Now, the next thing that I want-"

For the third time now, Sikowitz found himself interrupted, not by Tori daydreaming, not by Jade interrupting the class by coming in late, nor by any other student replicating either of their behaviors. Rather, it was the sound of a building commotion out in the middle of the hallway, just outside of the door. "Oh, for the love of all things cheese! What's going on out there!?"

Tori and the others exchanged looks of curiosity themselves. Whatever was going on, it was seeming to get louder and louder. Sikowitz hopped off the stage and proceeded towards the classroom door, opening it up and prepared to yell at whomever was out there. To not only his shock but that of his students who could see what was going on, the hallway seemed packed with students, many of whom were probably exiting their classrooms amid the commotion themselves. The sounds of inaudible shouting from down the hall could be heard as well.

Reaching for a student and pulling them into the classroom, Sikowitz immediately began to berate them with questions, holding the boy still in spite of his protests to follow the crowds. "What's going on? Why are the students out of their classrooms?"

The boy found the questions to be odd, as if Sikowitz- and his class by extension – should know what's going on. "Some kid got hurt or something, like really bad."

"How bad is really bad?" Andre called out to the kid.

"No idea, but there's ambulances and stuff outside. Teachers yelling and all that. Heard someone say that the police were called." Without explaining any further, the student departed back into the crowds, and very quickly Sikowitz's own class began to migrate along with them, Tori being among them.

Immediately, as if going from one world to another, once they crossed through the door, the sounds of sirens were faintly heard against the commotion of students and the yells and orders of teachers and facility forcing students to back up and other commands. _Oh my God… This isn't a joke…_ _What happened!?_

Seeing this madness before her, Tori couldn't help but find herself drawn to what was going on, pushing herself through the crowds, quickly making distance between her and her classmates who were still for the most part congregated around Sikowitz's door.

Like a snake, managing to weave her way through the students – who at this point had come to a stop, being held back what looked like a barricade of not only Hollywood Arts facility, but also what looked like medical professionals, and even a few police. _Damn. What happened?_

"Get the students out of here! We need more room," Tori could hear someone call out.

"Keep him still," She heard another voice. "Don't move him if we can."

By the time she had woven her way through the entire crowd to basically the front of the students, she couldn't see much, other than what looked like a number of people kneeling around someone who she couldn't see. A number of teachers and other people seemed to hover nearby, among them being the guidance counselor, Lane Alexander.

"Lane!" She called out, hoping to get his attention, but her voice was drowned out by all the commotion around her. In that moment though, she thought she might have caught a glimpse of something.

"We can't leave him here any longer. We've gotta go," Another voice called out as well.

The barricade of adults began to step forward, causing Tori and the many students nearest her and all hoping to get a better view for themselves to take several steps back. It didn't take a genius to tell that them being there was probably one of the last things that they wanted. And with each step taken, with each foot that the students were forced to take back, students began to return to their classrooms, either bored, upset that they weren't going to be able to see what happened, or otherwise realizing that the show was coming to a close.

Tori was one of the slower ones to join those dispersing, but when she finally did, what she thought she saw a moment earlier had her terrified now. She wasn't sure entirely, but given everything, she had to suspect as much.

 _Please tell me I'm wrong. Please give me something, anything to tell me that I'm worrying over nothing._

She hoped that she might have seen him in the hallway, perhaps joining the rest of the students in Sikowitz's classroom, but that turned out to not be the case when she returned to Sikowitz's classroom. By that point, everyone had returned to their seats with the exception of Tori, and with two seats still empty – one of them being hers – Tori couldn't help but believe that her suspicions might have been true.

She wanted to throw up.

 _Oh my God… I think it was him… I think It was Robbie…_

* * *

 **A/N: I don't doubt that many people were already predicting what was to come; May have been a bit too obvious. Who can say for certain? Things will eventually reveal themselves, but I might just be speaking cryptically for the sake of it. Who knows!?**

 **Hope you all enjoy!**


	3. Aftershock

**Chapter 3. Aftershock**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious.**

* * *

 **...**

 **Sikowitz's Classroom, Hollywood Arts**

 **...**

"Well students," Sikowitz stammered, his train of thought, his intended plans for the rest of the class – with what little time there was still was of the day – having been completely ruined by the drama that had taken place only moments earlier. For him personally, he found himself perhaps more conflicted than even his students might have been. On one hand, it was terrible that something could happen to a student here, possibly even one that was his student. But on the other hand, if there were ever a chance to really get a firsthand account at drama, at seeing people grieve and worry, then this was it!

"Sikowitz!" Jade barked out, drawing the instructor out of his daydream and back to the present, to him standing upon the stage with his class back in their seats, themselves somehow having been drawn back rather than remain out in the hallway and watch what might have happened next.

A quick glance out into the hallway, multiple students dragging their feet as they reluctantly began trekking in the opposite direction where they had only minutes ago migrated towards. "Hmm, yes. Well, it seems like that, how should we put this? Distraction! That's an appropriate term to describe that," He enthusiastically remarked, the upbeat nature of his words seeming a bit strange, if not even wrong.

"You really think distraction is the right word?" Tori asked. "I mean, Ro-" she caught herself before saying anything further. The fact was, she didn't have any proof that Robbie was the one who had been hurt other than perhaps a nagging feeling. For her to blurt out his name aloud to the class, it would be terrible for her. "Someone might have been seriously hurt!"

She hoped that nobody would notice her slip, and quickly swiveling her head around the classroom, a few nodding heads of students in agreement with her was the closest thing that looked like people picked up on it. She wanted to sigh in relief, but smartly decided against it, knowing it'd only further draw attention to herself.

"I'm quite aware, and it's a terrible tragedy. I'm sure whomever it was will be fine," he lied, at least hoping that there might have been some students who'd believe the same. Never in the time that he had been teaching at Hollywood Arts could he recall a time when there had been such a heavy-handed response to a student being injured. Perhaps the closest thing to it he could remember in recent time was that freak accident involving Trina Vega. But other than that, he was drawing a blank.

"But, call it cynical, call it cruel, that is life. And it is also our profession, whether we like to admit it or not," He jumped off the stage and proceeded towards the door to the hall, not bothering to look at the students, knowing that half of them were probably either texting their friends asking about what happened or alternatively passing along whatever little information they might have known themselves. "As performers, artists, entertainers, the sad reality is that most of what will drive us is disappointment, is pain. This, though being a terrible example, is nonetheless an early exposure to something to which could unfortunately, and this I say with a heavy heart, that could happen to any of us."

With those words, it seemed that everyone's attention had diverted from their phones and instead back onto Sikowitz, standing there morbidly, his extended arm reaching towards the door as he held it open. Considering the rather ominous remarks earlier, Tori couldn't help but think it might have been more appropriate if he were dressed in black robes and holding a scythe, rather than the empty coconut husk he had seemed to have been holding onto for dear life.

"Well, I think that all things considered, this might be a good point for us to finish for today." Although a bit unexpected, the students seemed pretty receptive to his suggestion that class be dismissed early. While the circumstances behind it might not have been the most pleasant, by any stretch, there was no disputing the fact that pretty much everyone would be in favor of getting out of their final class of the day early. Especially considering how badly backed up the parking lot of Hollywood Arts had been known to get. "Those of you who we didn't get to today, be ready by tomorrow!"

Tori was a bit slow to get up from her chair, unlike the rest of the gang who had practically bolted from their chairs upon hearing Sikowitz. But to her surprise, she noticed that Cat had not rushed out much like how Andre and company had seemed to have. In fact, it almost looked like she was waiting for Tori, like she was worried. "You OK Tori? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"You know how people look after they've seen ghosts?" She knew that Cat probably meant all the best intentions, but still Tori couldn't help but receive it and return it like a joke.

Whether Cat realized that Tori was being sarcastic or not, it didn't seem like it processed entirely with her. "Not quite, but this one time my brother was sleeping and he got up to get a glass of water and then all of a sudden he started screaming and said that something tried to grab him from within the sink."

Sudden panic began to shroud Tori, not sure if Cat was entirely serious or not. Perhaps that was the scariest thing of all, that she very well might have been telling the truth, but then again her brother wasn't exactly "right" in the head. Whichever case it might have been, she gulped and weakly nodded, very quickly wishing she hadn't tried to be funny.

"But really though, you OK?" Cat asked once again, not satisfied that Tori didn't answer the first time around.

Tori wanted to say sure, to just put it past her, but the nagging worry in the back of her head seemed to plague her. If she was right, that Robbie was the one who had been hurt, and she didn't say anything, how was she going to live with herself? Her mind raced with how she thought to justify it, _Oh sorry guys. I knew it was Robbie but didn't want to spoil the fact that we got out early. Oh, yeah I knew it was Robbie, but I didn't think it was all that serious! I know he's our friend, but it's not like it was Andre or anything, am I right?_ Each excuse made her feel sick. "Um, did the others leave?"

Cat quickly proceeded towards the door, sticking her head out into the hallway for a moment before returning back towards Tori, "Nope! Beck and Andre are both outside. Jade too! But she doesn't seem as excited."

 _No doubt only waiting because Beck's there or cause you're in here. There's probably like a zero percent chance that she's waiting for me. Actually, better than zero percent. More like a negative 100 percent chance._ Tori sighed, composing herself before the expected disbelief the group was going to give her. "OK. Come with me. Something I wanna talk to you guys about."

 **...**

 **Main Hallway, Hollywood Arts**

 **...**

It was remarkable really, how in just a short time it seemed that for the students within Hollywood Arts, they inadvertently found themselves divided into – for the most part – two groups. Those who were there when the emergency responders arrived to deal with whatever it was that had happened to whomever it was. And those who had come to find out about it from someone who was there. The few that were completely in the dark, even in spite of how briefly ago it the occurred, they now represented a small minority of the student body.

And yet, even in spite of that, of how quickly it seemed that every little thing that everyone knew had been spreading around, there was no way to dismiss the fact that when it came to the person possibly being someone that they were friends with, then it wasn't possible. Even as Tori spoke, as she expressed her thoughts – as unpopular and perhaps paranoid as they might have been – the only thing that seemed to stick out to her were the looks of disbelief, if not almost like faces of laughter of the group.

"Look Tori, I know it's hardly the route you're looking to take, but you may wanna give some thought to trying stand up," Beck remarked, chuckling every so often alongside Andre.

Tori couldn't believe it, that even in spite of all the pieces having been set up so perfectly to play out a terrible scenario, nobody seemed to want to believe her. She couldn't believe that they all just assumed that she was joking. When had she ever made jokes like this before? And they did really think it was hilarious themselves? She hoped not.

Andre chuckled a little bit, but otherwise composed himself, surprisingly quick. "Yeah, I'm sure he's at the nurse or something. He wasn't looking very good, but to assume that because of that that was him? A bit of a stretch, wouldn't you say?"

While his laughing didn't exactly bolster her case, Tori knew somehow or another that Andre believed her. After all, it was too convenient of an explanation to accept at face value, and one that she wasn't going to until someone proved it. It tore her inside, a part of her as much hoping that she was wrong that Robbie wasn't the one hurt as she was not wanting to be judged for immediately assuming that he had either. Either way, Tori found herself in a lose-lose situation.

"I don't see why we're making such a big deal out of this," Jade's words spewed like venom, Tori finding herself wincing with each word spoken. At how cold and with how much anger she carried with them. But perhaps what most stung was that – if Tori was right – it wasn't likely that it'd much sway Jade's opinion. Nor her wording.

 _Leave it to Jade to be a bitch at the worst possible moment._

Turning her head, she could see the satisfied smile on Jade's face, looking right at Tori, as if she had said those words with that in mind. Hell, to Jade it must have been like killing two birds with one stone. She gets to talk down on Robbie while making Tori visibly uncomfortable. _I take it back. Leave it to Jade to be a cold, heartless bitch._

Yet for as much as Jade might have taken a liking to it, she was the lone minority in this. Beck shook his head disapprovingly, this being just the latest example of her piss-poor attitude seen today. Andre also found her words in poor taste. _Not cool Jade. Not cool._

Of them though, Cat strangely enough didn't seem at all phased by Jade's words. In fact, she seemed to have been completely silent, not even having made a sound when Tori was explaining what she thought happened. Now though, that anonymity was gone and Tori found herself shifting her attention away from Jade and instead onto the redhead. "Cat, you alright?"

Even before responding, Tori could tell that she wasn't all there. She looked worried, perhaps even frightened. Tori worried that unlike maybe Beck or Andre, certainly unlike Jade, Cat might have believed Tori. _Damn it. Now I really wish that I hadn't said anything. Way to go Tori! Having to be the buzzkill, didn't ya!? Well look what've you done..._

"You good little red?" Andre asked, gently wrapping his arm around Cat's shoulder, the mere contact causing her to basically awaken from the trance-like state she had been in. The slight gasp that escaped from her lips caught Beck and Jade's attention, both now looking too at her.

With everyone's eyes focused on her, Cat felt like she was a dwarf amongst giants, all of them waiting for her to take another step before they themselves squashed her. And Andre's words, even in spite of the caring nature to them, how his touch – although intended to be comforting – had her repulsed, more than anything there did one thought go through her head. "I'm…" She choked, her words sounding hollow, even artificial. "I'm fine. Just tired is all."

"Want us to take you to the nurse?" Tori offered, slowly moving towards Cat, though all the while further distancing herself from Jade. She knew that it probably wouldn't do anything, but maybe at least the excuse would be enough to give the redhead a bit of privacy, maybe even enough to make her a little bit more comfortable.

"Aww, that's sweet of you, but really, I don't need the nurse," Cat politely declined, the pursing of her lips actually managing to bring a small smile to Tori's face as well.

Even then however, while Cat's smile was a nice treat, there wasn't much of a chance of Tori just letting her skate by like that. "You're probably right, but might not hurt, maybe?"

"For crying out loud Vega! You're not her mother!" Jade grunted out, obviously annoyed with listening to Tori's efforts to help Cat, which she instead regarded as babying, and sickeningly so. "She said she's fine."

Immediately following this, Beck interjected himself, intentionally positioning closer to Cat but at the same time creating a divide between the two feuding girls. While there was no disputing the importance that Cat was alright, it was also hard to dispute the fact that ensuring that Tori and Jade's not coming to blows was an important thing as well. "Hey, no need for raised voices," he called out, almost hypocritically in fact. "I think, like Cat, we're all a little bit tired."

"Especially after having to run those laps in hell," Andre moaned, the very thought of him having to relive the painful mile in gym class being enough to fatigue him where he stood. "It could well be that we're a bit hungry. Anyone wanna go grab a quick bite to eat? A burger maybe?"

"A burger does sound nice," Beck nodded, though outside of perhaps Andre, nobody else seemed all that interested in food.

"You wanna join us Cat?" Andre asked, his eyes briefly darting at the slightly-shocked expression on Tori's face, which was understandable considering the circumstances. After all, here Andre was, shifting the entire focus of the conversation off of the important things which at the moment were Robbie's disappearance and Cat's well-being.

The redhead seemed lost in thought for a moment before turning and looking towards Andre, a smile on her face, "Thanks, but I'm not all that hungry."

"Jade, how 'bout you? Want to join us?" Beck offered to Jade, having a pretty clear idea that even before he'd finish inviting her that she'd turn him down, which she pretty much did immediately so with a quick shake of the head. "Fair enough," he conceded, not looking to pick a fight with her on the matter.

Tori couldn't help but notice a very, very faint nodding of the head by Andre, undoubtedly something that she would have missed had she not been so fixated onto him right now, and not in a positive manner. While she expected the callous level of disrespect to be shown by Jade, the fact that not only Beck, but Andre too, were so blatantly displaying the same behavior - in combination with how quickly it seemed that they had dismissed Tori's concerns - it honestly just disgusted her. "And you Tori?"

She couldn't take it any further. "Um, Andre. Can we speak for a second?" She didn't even wait for a response from him before she had her fingers tightly gripped around his wrist, dragging him off towards a more empty part of the hallway. "The hell is the matter with you," she hissed, her words being quiet enough so that only Andre could hear, but still enough so the harshness in her voice could be identified.

"Tori, relax," Andre spoke calmly and softly. He waited until she seemed at least a little bit calmer before he started again. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? What's wrong is that Cat's freaked and all you're thinking about is a burger? Really!? A burger!?" She stopped herself as she herself noticed her voice raising in irritation. Glancing over Andre's shoulder real quick, she let out a sigh of relief that nobody seemed to have turned to face their direction.

Andre put both hands on her shoulders, it appearing to have a calming effect to the Latina. "Tori, we're not actually going to get realize right?"

She lifted her head up in surprise, having been so convinced that that was what they were doing. "You're not?"

He shook his head, "No. First off, why do you think we'd be suggesting we go get burgers. You girls always say no to that."

It was true. For the most part, it seemed like whenever they were to go out and get something to eat, burgers were among the least chosen options. If Andre or Beck had been earnest in seeing if anyone was hungry, they'd know to offer suggest sushi instead.

"So, you're not actually thinking about getting burgers, are you?"

Andre nodded. "More like suggest something that none of you would like, giving me and Beck a perfect excuse to take a little trip to Hollywood Presbyterian,see if what you're thinking is true."

Tori rose an eyebrow in surprise. "That's... That's actually not a bad idea." She couldn't believe it herself. It was thought out, they had given themselves a perfect excuse to leave, and nobody had to know what they were really doing. However, for as impressed as she was, there was something that confused her. "Wait. You and Beck came up with this?"

"Yeah," Andre nonchalantly said.

"In just the last couple of minutes, right?"

"Pretty much."

"How?"

"You know, I'm not exactly sure how to explain. Just kinda did. Guess it's a guy thing I suppose."

It was hardly a satisfying answer, but Tori - reluctantly - accepted it. Perhaps mostly because she felt that as clear as it might have been for Andre to understand himself, she had the strangest feeling that it would go completely over her head. "OK, I suppose." Taking another glance over Andre's shoulder, Tori saw that now they, particularly Jade, were beginning to look in their direction, "Maybe we ought to get back, before Jade starts asking questions."

"Agreed," Andre said, nodding.

"So are you two done?" Jade asked, the tone of her voice clearly showing that she was quite annoyed with the two. However long her threshold for waiting might have been, obviously they were starting to strain it. And who else would Jade seek to blame than the one who prompted the whole thing in the first place; Tori.

Andre smirked at Jade's complaint. A part of him was expecting something less composed, less restrained, but at the same time he didn't mind her keeping her temper in check. Lord knows that she hadn't tried to throughout the rest of the day. "Well Tori isn't interested either in grabbing a bite, so I think Beck and I will head out. Don't want to get caught behind the dinner rush people."

"In that case, Cat, how about I take you home?" Tori offered, grabbing the redhead in a light hug. Even though she might not have been completely there, Cat had a seemingly inane instinct when it came to getting and receiving hugs. However she might have been feeling, she wasn't one to waste the opportunity to give someone a hug, and this was no exception. Perhaps it was the fact that Cat was in a rut that Tori found herself caught off-guard, because once those arms were wrapped around her waste, Tori found herself struggling to breathe, mustering all of her strength to break the ironclad grip that the redhead seemed to have had. "Cat! Let go," She squealed.

Quickly releasing her grip, Cat looked almost disappointed, not at Tori but rather at herself for being too rough with the Latina. Seeing this herself, Tori quickly struck a smile, playing it off like a joke as she gently threw a light punch that gently grazed Cat's shoulder. As that happened, Tori could still feel the strain put upon her ribs, each breath she took seeming to take a little bit out of her. "I'm sorry Tori! For a second I was afraid that I might have hurt you!"

Tori let out a fake laugh, one which prompted Jade to roll her eyes. "Oh, never! You know me," she sarcastically beat her fist against her chest in a Tarzan-like motion, "Abs of steel!" She got so caught up in trying to sell the lie that it didn't completely process to her until after she stopped hitting herself that she realized she was actually hitting herself, much harder than she probably ever meant to.

"You know, that might not be a bad idea," Andre began, almost wanting to test and see if Tori's core was just going to implode upon itself after not only the abuse she dealt to herself but also Cat's bear hug. "You said it yourself Cat. You're tired, and while I'm certain that you're probably fit to drive yourself, why not let Tori take you home?"

Cat seemed flattered by the offer, but extremely reluctant as well. "That'd be nice... But what about my car though? How am I going to get to school?"

Not missing a beat, Andre continued on, "Don't worry about that little red. Beck and I can drop it off after we've gotten our burgers."

"But wait, how are you going to get back then?"

"Don't worry about it. We're two smart guys. I'm sure that we'll find a smart way of going about juggling between all these cars," Andre confidently said as he held out his hand for a high five from Beck, almost instantly getting the receptive slap back.

Jade simply shook her head slightly and snickered as she leaned against one of the lockers, looking like she was having fun dissecting the conversation, internally laughing at every joke she came up with. Tori glared at her, marveling at how effortlessly and easy she made it seem, not caring about anyone other than themselves. Taking it upon herself to ignore Jade for as long as able, Tori turned back towards Cat, "So what do you say? I'll even let you sit in the front seat!"

Cat's eyes lit up at that offer. "Really!? I get to sit in the front!?" Often times whenever Tori was driving somewhere with company, the front seat was typically always taken by Andre. It wasn't that Cat had an issue with that, as Andre always capitalized on it and assumed the role of the car's DJ, but that also meant that the likelihood that she'd have to sit in the front was seldom, to say the least. After a few seconds of empty thinking, Cat nodded her head, "Alright! Thanks!" She was about to put Tori in another tight hug, but at the very last second stopped, remembering how the Latina looked only a few minutes earlier.

"Alright, let's get going then man," Beck remarked as he kissed Jade goodbye and began to walk towards the parking lot, hopefully having been considerably cleared out by this point.

Andre gave him a nod of acknowledgement as he bid farewell to the girls, "On my way."

"Call me when you get back," Tori called out, hoping to make it sound as generic as possible to hide the real motives behind the call.

"Will do," Andre quickly muttered as he started to run down the hall, hoping to catch up with Beck.

Tori turned to Cat, "We should get going to."

 **...**

 **Tori's Car**

 **...**

She had given much thought as to what Jade was going to do. It was a bit entertaining really, just the irony of the whole situation. There Jade was, the girl who'd waste not a second in ridiculing someone, even for just being alone, now being the odd one out themselves. If it weren't for the unfortunate circumstances that beset this situation, Tori might have relished far more joy in all of this. But right now the main thing was not just getting Cat home, but hopefully getting a call from Andre later along the lines of her being wrong about Robbie.

It was in her prioritizing of getting Cat home safely that Tori seemed to utterly miss Jade getting into the backseat of her car. If it weren't for her adjusting her mirror than she might not have ever noticed that she was sitting there.

Jade simply glared right at the mirror, her gaze nevertheless seeming to pierce right into Tori's. "Forget how to drive or something, Vega?" There was no end to Jade's remarks, but with Tori, it seemed like there truly was never a lacking of something she could say that would get under Tori's skin. In some respects, it was both a gift and a curse - but to Tori nothing but the latter.

Tori said nothing, preferring to pretend that Jade simply never was there. She thought it was an easy enough plan to carry through. After all, Jade was never part of the equation, never someone who Tori considered being involved in the "Help Cat Initiative" that seemed to have formed out of nowhere. Why should all of a sudden Tori care that Jade was there now? _She's probably just here to piss me off some more. No doubt about it._

As she drove though, it became abundantly clear that Jade being in the car wasn't going away. Besides the dead silence that occupied the car throughout the greater extent of the drive, it seemed that every time Tori glanced in the rear view mirror, Jade would be right there, staring right back at her. _Is she just watching me? Like, is that her plan? Scare me to the point where I end up doing something stupid and crashing the car?_

 _"_ Tori?" A meekish voice broke the silence - much to Tori's delight - and quickly glancing her eyes onto Cat, just enough to give her acknowledgement and not long enough to completely distract her from the road ahead, she could see that the redhead was mirroring Jade's actions, staring right at her.

"What's up Cat?"

"He's OK right?"

"Who?" Tori lied. She knew exactly who Cat was talking about, and she hated that she was knowingly lying to her about it.

"Robbie," It sounded like Cat was struggling just to talk, which only ate at Tori even further. "Like you said, he didn't show up for class. I just... I don't know..."

Trying to come up with the right thing to say, Tori glanced back at the rear view window, actually looking to Jade for some sort of guidance, but Jade simply smirked and averted her eyes towards Cat. Tori couldn't say for certain, but she thought that Jade might have been enjoying this. The question was, was she enjoying the fact that it might have been Robbie hurt, that Cat was seeming to be upset about it, or that the whole thing put Tori in an awkward and uncomfortable position.

"Tori?"

Tori blinked in rapid succession, trying to pass herself off as having been daydreaming. "Oh, I'm sorry Cat! Thought I saw a stray dog or something." Not exactly her best lie, but she didn't exactly have much time to come up with something. "Look, I'm sure Robbie's fine. I think I just got caught up in the hysterics of it all or something, but there's no way that it could be Robbie who got hurt. I mean, we'd know about if that were the case."

Cat nodded, seeming reassured by Tori's words. "Yeah! Yeah, you're probably right!"

The conversation died off after that point, much to Tori's delight. Lying to Cat, especially about something as important and serious as this, it made Tori feel physically ill, and she wasn't sure how much more she was going to be able to endure. It also didn't help that Jade continued to play the role of the silent, judging passenger. Perhaps it was the fact that Jade was there that all of this seemed to weigh so heavily on Tori. _The sooner I drop off Cat, the sooner all this will be over with._

Only a short time later, she had finally pulled into Cat's driveway, prompting Tori to usher out a silent and discreet sigh of relief. Funny enough, it looked like she and Cat had switched roles, Cat now seeming to have been reinvigorated with energy while Tori was the one who appeared drained. Cat opened up her car door and looked about ready to run up the driveway inside her home, but stopped short of doing so, instead leaning against the car door, smiling at Tori. "Thanks again Tori!"

 _Of course Cat. Anytime..._ She found herself at a loss for words, managing only to smile really, though she finally managed to muster a handful of words as Cat began to walk away, "Anytime Cat!"

Once Cat disappeared out of sight, Tori took another sigh of relief, glad to finally be done with that. At first, she didn't think much of it; nothing more than a friend simply offering another friend a ride home. But instead, it had proven to be a more taxing challenge than what she could have expected it to be. Glancing up at the rear view window, wondering what sort of reaction at this point Jade was going to give her, Tori couldn't help but smile at the fact that Jade didn't seem to be there.

"Thank God's she's gone..." Tori felt a wave of relief overtake her. At least until she turned to her side, realizing not just that Jade was sitting there, but also the grave mistake she had perhaps made.

"Jade, what... What are you doing?" Tori stammered out, not sure exactly if it was her being paranoid or not that Jade might have actually heard her only a moment ago.

Jade looked at Tori for a moment before branding a sinister smile. "Well Vega. In case you haven't forgotten, which I wouldn't put past you honestly, I was sitting in the backseat. Now that Cat's gone, I've moved to the front. Does that make sense or do I have to use smaller words for you?"

Hardly a stranger to Jade's insults, there was something right now though which put Tori the wrong way. Perhaps it was the guilt she was starting to feel about Cat, or concern over Robbie. Whatever it might have been, it was definitely impacting Tori's tolerance for Jade right now. "No Jade, I get it..."

"Good," Jade remarked, there being a hint of happiness in her voice as she pulled out her phone. There was a short period of silence that followed, with the two of them simply sitting in the car before Jade spoke up, "Well!? We going or what?"

"Going? Going where?" Tori looked at Jade a bit confused. Just because she had given Cat a ride home, it didn't mean that all of a sudden she had become a chauffeur and was willing to take people wherever they might have desired.

Jade finally pulled her attention away from her phone, turning her head over to Tori and looking at her as if she was an idiot or something. "Where do you think? Back to Hollywood Arts."

"For what?"

"Because that's where my car is. Obviously."

To some extent, Tori was surprised. Not as to why Jade wanted her to take her to the school, but that she expected Tori to take her. "Jade, I'm not driving you back to the school."

What Tori didn't account for was how apparently offended Jade was by her rejection, "Excuse me!?"

"I'm not going that way," Tori found herself struggling to find the most appropriate way to phrase what she was saying, especially given how little of a distance Jade would have to close to get at her. "I'm going home."

"OK, that's like what, maybe a few minutes out of your way? I mean honestly, you don't have any plans or anything exciting going on. Otherwise you wouldn't have driven Cat home in the first place!"

Tori slammed her hands against the steering wheel, the suddenness of it being even enough to get Jade to raise an eyebrow, curious as to what the Latina might do next. And while she might have wanted to do something more, Tori couldn't bring herself to. Even in spite of how warranted it might have been. As to what that would have been, she wasn't even sure herself.

Instead, she just took a deep breath and sighed. "You're right. I don't have anything going on, which is why I drove Cat home." Turning her head, Tori glared at Jade, trying to be as intimidating as possible, though the fatigue that had overtaken her grossly diminished that. "Because I offered to drive her home. So why did you come too?"

There was a brief silence following this and Tori couldn't help but worry that she had walked right into a tornado of Jade's known fury. For as much as she tried to keep her composure, she nevertheless felt like she was trembling inside.

That trembling only got worse as Tori could see a grin form upon Jade's lips, her hands reaching into the bag that lay near her feet. _What's she doing? Jade, what are you looking for?_ Her eyes never left focus on what she could see of Jade's hands, wondering - even panicking - about what it was that she might be seeking.

"Here," Jade grunted out as her hands became visible again and several green bills scattered across Tori's lap and her dashboard, all of them appearing to be singles. "Now will you drive please?"

While the intent might not have been there, Tori couldn't help but feel a bit offended by Jade's gesture. Here she was, literally throwing money at Tori like she was some disenfranchised taxi driver or something. However, she knew that whatever she said held the risk of another remark from Jade, and at this point, she was more willing to just drive than to have to put with any more of that.

The entire ride, both of them were silent, but it was apparent enough that neither of them had any much desire to talk with one another anyway. For Tori, the silence was nice, giving her the illusion that Jade wasn't actually there, though that only meant that her mind had to come up with some valid excuse for why she was driving back to the school. _I forgot my books. Yeah, that's a perfectly understandable reason why I'm heading back there. Not at all because of some evil witch in the front seat of my car!_

The parking lot was completely empty by this point, save for only Jade's car and perhaps one or two teachers' who remained in their offices grading assignments or something. Within Tori's head, a part of her was wanting to just pull into the parking lot, just get perhaps a tire or two into it before dropping her off. Make her walk the rest of the way towards her car, but even then - for as much as she might have wanted to - she found herself driving and pulling up right beside Jade's car.

A thank you. A sentence or two of appreciation for Tori's kind gesture; it wasn't too much for Tori to ask for, was it? As she watched Jade get out of the car, making not a word, not even giving her a single glance, Tori realized that it wasn't going to happen. When she realized that Jade still hadn't closed the passenger-side door, Tori quickly turned her head around, hoping to get a smile or some sort of look of appreciation. Once she saw the cold look Jade was giving her, Tori very quickly wished she hadn't.

"Not that it's any of your business, Vega, but your question earlier, why I am came. Because Cat's my friend, and I care about her." Her words, in spite of having a positive message to them, they still cut deep, as Tori was quickly realizing. She wanted to say something, the blank message that her brain was coming up with being utterly interrupted by Jade continuing, "Believe it or not, this isn't your world and we aren't just actors in it. You're no God. And you're no angel either, so how about you stop trying to pass yourself off as one..." The sound of the door being slammed shut was all that was heard after that, Tori sitting in her car, speechless, unable to do anything more than watch Jade drive off, never again looking back at the Latina.

After a minute of sitting there in her car, processing what Jade had just said, Tori finally begun to drive home. But with each turn she made, each street light she passed, she couldn't erase what Jade said to her. She couldn't ignore that very likely - for as much grief as Jade gave her for the sake of it - she meant every word of what she said. _Does she really think that? Do others think that too?_

It ate at her, dissolving away her desire to do anything more than to just get some sleep. For as much as she was hoping for Andre to call her, to tell her that she was crazy, she just didn't have it in her for the night. The day had progressively drained her, and the last couple of minutes had been the icing on the cake.

 _I'm going to wake up tomorrow, and everything will be alright. I know it._

She hoped.

 **A/N: My sincerest apologies that this chapter has taken so long for me to get done. I won't lie; this was probably one of the toughest chapters that I have written up to this point on either this or the other story I'm currently working on. I hope that for future chapters, I'll be able to get them out to you all at a more reasonable rate. Otherwise, enjoy the chapter!**


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